Rumour and speculation are rife during times of change, says Manchester health authority chief executive Neil Goodwin. And the best way to counter them, of course, is to provide access to reliable and comprehensive information - which is just what the HA is doing with its new website.

Its Multi-Agency Support Team for Primary Care Groups makes available Department of Health guidance in full text, offers a comprehensive list of HA contacts for GPs, provides maps and lists member practices for each of the city's PCGs.

It even offers advice on how to get on to a PCG board.

The aim is to ensure that those involved in PCGs locally - and more widely - know what is going on, or at least know where to go to find out: one section of the site is titled, 'Questions and Rumours'. Top of the list, of course, is the tricky question of money for GPs on PCG boards - it's payment for attendance or for locum cover, not both, they are instructed.

MAST also offers a number of relevant links. Some national, such as that of the now rapidly expanding NHS PCG Alliance.

Others are local; these include a searchable database of some 800 voluntary organisations and community groups offered by Voluntary Action Manchester. This is, of course, a time of collaboration and co-operation, so MAST will also take you to the Manchester Healthy Cities Initiative, launched last summer, where details of the city's health profile can be found.

It also offers a link to the Health Action Zone bid submitted on behalf of Manchester, Salford and Trafford.

It is all good stuff, and could be used as a model elsewhere.

If GPs and others involved in primary care around Manchester have any sense, they will make use of the potential here and build on it.

The only problem I can see is they won't be paid to log on. What does the Red Book have to say about that?